shattered ankle

My mother (83) shattered her ankle in a fall and had to have a metal plate plus pins put in her ankle. She was put into a boot and has to stay off her ankle or 6-8 weeks. Because this happened to her out of her home state , while on vacation, she hasn’t seen her new doctor yet. When she goes to see him what questions should she ask? What will her long-time prognois be like being she is this age?

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I was in an automobile accident and the steering column came through the floor board of my SUV and shattered my right ankle. The orthopedic surgeon that operated on me in the ER had to remove 21 pieces of bone from my ankle. I now have three pins, two in one side and one in the other. The doctor says depending on how it heals that I may be able to use it (walk on it) with out further surgery. If not then he will have to fuse my foot to my shin bone which will leave me with no flexability in my ankle. Meaning I will have a stiff ankle. I am looking for any advice on this subject. I asked the doctor about prosthetic ankles (sp?) and he said that there isn’t really such a thing as an “ankle replacement”. I am wandering is this true? What other choices do I have? If anyone has any information that could help me I would be very appreciative of it.Sincerely,Mary

I’ve seen folks in their 80’s recover quite well from these types of injuries…others not so well. It just depends on the health of the person. If all goes well, she may lose some range of motion in her ankle, develop arthritis, if she already does’nt have some, and she’ll set off the alarms in the airport. A doc can give her a card that shows she has metal implants. I guess she needs to ask him when she can put weight on the foot. When she can go see a PT, usually the docs wait till they can weight bear, but it would be nice for her to see one a few times to get some exercises in the meantime to keep her strong and limber, given her age.Good luck,M Scott PT